For decades, traditional media buyers operated in a world where the currency of success was simple: household rating points, reach, and frequency.
Negotiations were conducted months in advance, with planned media buys locked in, guaranteeing delivery against estimated audience numbers.
Digital media came along and tossed that playbook out the window.
Traditional media buyers are experts in building cable, radio, billboard, broadcast, and print plans, but many struggle with the shift to digital media buying.
The good news is, the transition to omnichannel media planning isn't impossible.
The Currency Problem: GRPs vs. Impressions
One fundamental challenge media buyers face is that digital media operates on a completely different currency.
Traditional buyers evaluate success through gross rating points (GRPs), which measure the percentage of a target audience reached multiplied by the average frequency of exposure.
Digital media runs on impressions, which are raw, unfiltered counts of how many times an ad is served.
Trying to compare GRPs to impressions is like trying to equate Monopoly money to actual cash. They both represent value, but in very different economies.
This shift has made it challenging for traditional media buyers to assess performance in a way that aligns with historical methods.
The Programmatic Puzzle
Another major hurdle is programmatic media buying.
Traditional media buying thrives on certainty. Buyers negotiate rates well in advance, carefully planning reach and frequency.
Programmatic functions in a real-time bidding (RTB) ecosystem where ad placements are purchased in milliseconds based on audience targeting and data signals.
Imagine you’re used to buying groceries from the same store every week with the same coupons and discounts, only to be suddenly dropped into an auction where the price of milk fluctuates by the second based on demand.
That’s the level of chaos traditional media buyers initially face when adapting to programmatic.
Making things even more complicated, despite improvements over the years, predicting advanced reach and frequency in programmatic has historically been tricky.
Not All Impressions Are Created Equal
In digital media, an impression isn’t just an impression. A pre-roll ad on YouTube, a display banner on a website, and an Instagram story ad may all count as ‘one impression,’ but their impact and audience engagement vary drastically.
Traditional media buyers accustomed to comparing the cost of a 30-second TV spot on Bravo to a spot on HGTV often struggle with the idea that CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) across different digital formats can’t be directly compared.
The Vendor Vortex
Perhaps one of the biggest headaches is the sheer complexity of the digital media supply chain.
Traditional media buying often involves a handful of vendors like cable providers, TV networks, radio stations, and print publications.
Digital introduces an alphabet soup of platforms: DSPs (demand-side platforms), SSPs (supply-side platforms), ad exchanges, ad networks, publishers, and more.
The number of intermediaries and tech providers can be overwhelming, making it difficult to understand where exactly their media dollars are going.
Left Hand Agency’s Approach: Integration, Not Isolation
We recognize these challenges and have built our media buying approach differently.
Unlike many agencies where digital and traditional media teams operate in silos, we have an integrated approach. Our traditional media buyers don’t just dabble in digital—they understand it. And, our digital media buyers respect and leverage the power of traditional channels.
Instead of treating digital as the disruptor and traditional as the dinosaur, we view them as complementary forces.
The ability to harness the strengths of both ensures a more strategic and holistic approach. We believe that a great media plan isn’t about choosing between digital and traditional, it’s about knowing how to make them work together to help our clients reach their goals.
For brands that want a partner who truly understands the omnichannel landscape, we offer an integrated, experienced team that brings the best of both worlds to the table.
And, best of all, we do it without making our traditional media buyers break out in a cold sweat when they hear the word "programmatic."
If you want to explore an omnichannel campaign with a truly integrated team, let's chat!
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